Personal InjuryPortland Car Accident Lawyers Welcome Red-Light Cameras
Most seasoned Portland, Oregon, car accident lawyers will tell you that Portland has seen its share of car accidents. A number of car crash lawyers have noted that car accidents are alarmingly high in and near certain city intersections, and that these accidents are among the most deadly.
Car Accidents in Portland Uncover Dangerous Intersections
Auto accident data supplied by State Farm--compiled from 1999 and 2000--revealed that the most dangerous intersections in Portland were at NE 39th Avenue & NE Sandy Boulevard, SE 82nd Avenue & SE Powell Boulevard, SE 82nd Avenue & SE Johnson Creek Boulevard, SE 122nd Avenue & SE Division Street, and NE 122nd Avenue & NE Glisan Street. In 2005, the West Burnside in the central core had some of the most dangerous intersections for pedestrians; two other accident-prone intersections were on SE 82nd Avenue. Car crash statistics for 2007 revealed that 35 car accidents resulted in 36 fatalities in Portland. These numbers dropped to 18 car accidents, resulting in 19 deaths in 2008.
Red-Light Cameras Reduce Portland Car Accidents
An experienced Portland car accident lawyer knows that red-light running frequently results in T-bone or right-angle car collisions. Portland Police note that these types of car collisions are 2.5 times more likely to cause serious injuries and fatalities than rear-end car crashes. To reduce the number and severity of car accidents, Portland initially installed red-light cameras at the following locations: West Burnside at 19th Avenue, eastbound approach; East Burnside at Grand Avenue, northbound approach; NE Sandy Blvd at 39th Avenue, westbound approach; NE Sandy Blvd at 39th Avenue, northbound approach; SE Grand Avenue at Madison Street, northbound approach.
Additional Red-Light Cameras Installed in 2007
Portland car crash lawyers noted that in 2007 Portland installed six more red-light cameras at intersections plagued by a high incidence of red-light car crashes. Cameras are now set up at SE Washington at 103rd, which had experienced 35 crashes, SW 4th at Jefferson, with 29 crashes; SE Stark at 99th, with 19 crashes; SE Stark at 102nd, 44 crashes; SE Foster at 96th, 53 crashes; and NE Broadway at Vancouver, 28 crashes.
Red-Light Violations and Car Collisions Decrease
Red-light cameras have not only reduced the number of red-light runners, but car crashes have gone down as well. In the three-year period before the cameras went up, there were 252 car accidents at five of the most deadly intersections--78 involved red-light runners. In the three years after installation, there were 199 car crashes--54 caused by red-light scofflaws. Injury crashes for all intersection approaches fell by 30% in the three-year time period. Portland car collision lawyers will tell you that these pro-active efforts help reduce car accidents and injuries in the city.
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